Earlier this month, Facebook surprised us all with the launch of a hotly anticipated feature, Chatbots for Messenger. Since then, the real benefits of this technology has been widely discussed. Can bots replace us? What are they good for? Will bots change the way businesses interact with their customers? If yes, when?
Let’s start with the basics. Bots are nothing new! It’s been over 50 years since the first “bot” (called ELIZA) was created at MIT. Since then, bots have been used time and time again by companies, governments, and even online spammers to facilitate the communication between human and machines.
What changed?
There are two major reason for this sudden rise of the bot:
1) As cloud computing and machine learning improved, artificial intelligence became way better. To an extent, it has now become extremely difficult to differentiate between a person and machine.
2) Facebook and other messaging Apps (Telegram, Slack, etc.) has allowed this technology to reach ever greater audiences, and become massively adopted.
Too good to be true?
Because of these, the idea of bots is becoming extremely attractive to companies. Imagine being able to provide the fastest and most effective customer support, simultaneously to thousands of clients around the world, in any language, without employing a single representative. Furthermore, bots would be able to adapt to the specific individual and be aware of the entire purchase history. They will not require any training whatsoever, or vacations. Bots will be able to operate during off-hours. Always available, always prepared, always reliable.
What is more, now with Facebook, you can get an immediate audience of 900 million people, just by being there. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it?
Here is the catch!
Building a chatbot requires a combination of psychological and technical expertises. Brands will require the right digital partners to develop and expand these platforms.
It’s not an easy road, but the ones who succeed will make it big! So, there you have it: reach your audience directly, disrupt your customer’s sales and support channels, get better understanding of your customers with analytics, and get noticed by being one of the first brands to use this medium. What are you waiting for?
If you wish to hear more about the hundreds of “use cases” for chatbots in the workplace or to connect with your clients, do not hesitate to contact us to learn more about chatbots. Technology is important, but relationships are what makes it possible for brands to be successful in the long-term.
If you like this article, we recommend “How we built our own Chatbot and why!”.